Memes Shit Me.

(I know, ironic… but I bet I’m not alone)

The Godmother suggested there was more space for more memes, but I disagree (and in so doing, I am meeting the requirements of this post).

For me link love and link “hate” are much better meme surrogates. It is significantly more interesting, to write and to read (especially for the non-blogger), yet allows us to pepper our posts with a selection of links to bloggers old and new that may agree or disagree with our views.

Don’t expect me to read

I guess I must at this point declare my lack of interest in reading blogs, any blogs really. At one point in time I would try my best to churn through 60 blog posts a day. While it was interesting it contributed to blogging burnout. If I don’t have time to write a post, then taking the time to read 60 others is really quite insane.

These days I might read the odd post once in a while. I am more likely to stroll by old lovers of my lover such as BigBearButt than hunt for new blogs. Even much adored blogs such as Pugnacious Priest only get a look in if I am specifically directed there. It’s nothing personal of course, and I know PP reads me just as infrequently.

The thing that gets me reading beyond any post is a creatively placed link. Whether it is a link of love or a link of hate, I the initial post already has me by the balls, I am likely to drag my lazy body over to the linked blog just to see where the inspiration was derived from.

Don’t write a comment when you could write a post.

This has been a rule that I have blogged by for a long time. In fact, it was such a comment that kicked my arse into gear this time around.

You see comments get lost amongst blog posts that are lost amongst blogs that are lost.

As a general rule, if you a commenting on a post that is older than 24 hours, you can assume that the only person that will ever read the comment is the post’s author.

However, if you write a post in response to a post, it is irrelevant how old the original post is. It could be a 4 year old post, a 4 minute old post, as soon as you address it from a post of your own it gains new life as well as new readers. Consider that if it is worth you commenting on it, it is worth other people reading it.

Irritate your fellow bloggers until they have to scratch the itch.

I am an irritant. I work hard at being not quite right. Sometimes I turn that pain on other bloggers. For those that know me, they know this is an opportunity to bite, to write.

Know that I am not a hater, so if you ever find yourself at the end of a disagreeable post, that it is a sign of affection. Maybe not for your point of view, but you are entitled to that so long as you remember I am right, probably more for the flavour of your writing.

Hug your fellow bloggers until the group hug is formed.

Alternatively give that Bear a hug that he can’t get away from. Does some other blogger inspire you? Have you found a secret little blog only known to the author and their keyboard treading cats? Let us know, let us join in the mutual admiration of others writing. Let us inspire then to write one more post.

Let’s face it, all of you that joined into the Sixth conversation now feel like writing one more post… admit it. People came back from months of hiatus purely to post a screenshot… bullshit, they were looking for an excuse, for inspiration, for the touch of love that can only be felt through link love.

The hugging can go on long way after the linkage of course… I found myself dropping Larísa a line last night… some links are never broken.

Pick sides, throw stones.

Some of the most exciting times in my blog writing (and reading) have been where one person manages to totally piss of someone else. Friends gather around to support each side, some play devils advocate, and the stones start flying.

These pitched battles would last a week, fill twitter, fill comments, fill feed readers. Yes, feathers would get ruffled occasionally, but if there is one way to draw a community together, it’s conflict.

Remember it’s an art, it’s not personal.

How can conflict draw a community together? At some point, someone (maybe several), will blow the whistle and the game will be over. Combatants will come together and shake hands, maybe agree to disagree, but everyone returns to their blogs having read multiple posts by multiple people with divergent views, which in turn inspires new, fresh, exciting writing.

Find someone to love and love them until you start to resemble each other.

You all know of my love for Bear, but he wasn’t my first or only love.

Before Bear there was the Mage blogging community.

Yes, there was once a vibrant extended Mage blogging community. There were Mage wars between the specs, between the factions, between the playstyles. All of it from love. We bled over into the outside world often, Mages love to pull aggro and Mage bloggers are no different.

We loved each other, we loved every new Mage blogger discovery. We loved, we linked and we wrote.

Find someone to hate and hate them until they are your friend.

Haters may hate, but sometimes through heated discussion comes learning and maybe even love.

Just because someone holds diametrically opposed views to you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t link to them, no I would suggest that makes it even more important and worthwhile.

If a meme is primarily about link love, you can do it without the meme.

When you write a post and it includes less than two outgoing links, reread

it before you post it. Who can you link to continue the tale? Who can you introduce to the blogging world that may be sitting on their 10th post and grand total of 9 reads, just wishing that one other person would appreciate their style.

Wherever possible, when you link to another blogger, link to their posts (rather than their blog homepage). WordPress in particular is great at ping/trackbacks. This alerts the author to your attention and gives their readers a chance to follow the murky trail back to you.

Get in Fimlys’ Face

If you haven’t as yet, make sure you drop in for the odd (sometimes very odd) TwistedNether Live Blogcast. Fim & HydRAWR have been doing that shit for years now, get into the chat room and give Fim some grief for me.

Don’t forget to say Five! as you go.

Headphones vs. Speakers

Last night on the train, after a few EOM drinks, I found myself listening to some music I have loved for a good 20 years. I’m pretty sure I was mumbling away to the songs at the volume of a full shout, but I so wanted to pull the headphones out and let everyone on the train appreciate my wonderful taste in music. Who doesn’t want to listen to Hole of my Love, or You’re Suss!, or even The boy who lost his jocks on Flinders Street Station?

OK, maybe most of you, but I know a while back when I posted the whole Love Planet album on Facebook, I was doing it to share, for those that remember, are still nursing bruises 20 years later. I shared, I “took off the headphones”.

That is the thing about link love. You can leave your headphones in, keep the post pretty much to yourself, or you can ramp the speakers up to 11, and share the joy of blogging, of your post, with others. It will make them aware of your presence, it will make your readers aware of their presence, and it will lead lazy blog readers like myself around to see what other people think about those things I love.

Challenge: Find one of my old posts from the 830 odd posts I have written and choose to agree or disagree with it. Compare life during TBC with life pre-MoP. Hate me, go on, hate me – ill love you for it!

There is one condition, with the exception of the initial link back to my inspirational post, all other links have to go outward and include at least two other people to involve.

I don’t have to be your muse, it could be anyone, but dear students, this is your writing homework for today.

Ohhh, you don’t have to do this… Memes are like chain letters threatening you 99 years bad luck if you don’t participate. No one likes that shit. Join in if you will, go about your business otherwise.

Oh wow, must be a Druid thing, like Navi it’s hard for me to be contentious so hopefully I’ll find something I agree with, hard to say though as I don’t understand Magery at all. Okay, where to begin …

You don’t have to be contentious. BBB’s post is a story of love rather than the digging of a short shallow grave for this Gnome, but there are times and places where you just have to cast thorns and weather the storm.

I know if I was writing a reply to *this post*, it would be to highlight the bullshit that comprises 90% of it… but you can make houses out of bullshit, so surely you can make a post out of it.

[…] 0 February 26, 2012 Posted by Milady in WoW[WoW] Guides ruined raiding?In response to Gnomeaggedon's challenge: "Find one of my old posts from the 830 odd posts I have written and choose to agree or disagree […]

It is already replacing and surpassing a feed reader though, from the 2 posts in reply I’ve discovered 1 newish blogger, rediscovered on blogger, read a post by probably the most consistent blogger out there (Rohan, which I wouldn’t have read otherwise) as well as a guild blog in a serious discussion.

Awww. I was so glad to get a poke from you the other day. Some bonds are magic, but shouldn’t they be considering our class? Some really good advice in this post. Any newbie blogger out there who is reading this: read and learn. The gnome is right.

Lovely also to get a reminder about the good old days. I’m happy where I am but I really have very fond memories of the WoW blogosphere. The game is gone for me but I miss you guys.

My reasoning behind the ‘more space for memes’ is simple: people like to talk to each other. There are those of us who take a bit of time to feel comfortable in larger spaces, and memes can serve as great introductory vehicles to boot. I get nervous sometimes, especially around those people I don’t ‘know’ IRL and there are days that the Blogsphere can seem a very scary place. Blogging is therapy on those days. Memes help the ideas come, and they produce others to inspire.